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we were lying down at the time or the loss would have been very severe.

The regiment was one of the four regular regiments forming the First Brigade of Regulars, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel R. C. Buchanan, that slept on the battle-field in advance of the line of the battle formed by our troops in the morning. The morning of the 2nd of July the regiment formed the rear of the rear guard until we left the field of battle. Camped that night near Harrison's Landing, on the James River. On the morning of the 3rd marched one mile to our present camp.

The list killed, wounded, and missing accompanies this.* During the entire operations the officers and men behaved with exemplary coolness, and carried out all my orders most cheerfully, promptly, and to my entire satisfaction.

SIR: I have the honor to make the following report of the part taken by the Twelfth Regiment of Infantry in the battle of Gaines' Mill on the 27th of June, 1862:

The Twelfth Infantry, forming part of Colonel Buchanan's (First) brigade of Sykes' division, moved from its camp, near Gaines' Mill, early on the morning of the 27th June, out on the Cold Harbor road, to the vicinity of McGahee's house. McGahee's house is a little more than a mile in an air line from Gaines' Mill, and is situated on the summit of the crest of a ridge running nearly parallel to the Chickahominy, and not more than a mile from it. Along this crest runs a road, which in places is so sunken as to form an admirable line of defense. In front of this road were corn fields, the ground having a gradual descent to the woods, through which an enemy would have to approach our position to attack us in font. The Twelfth Infantry was posted in the corn field directly in front of McGahee's house, within close musket-range of the woods in front. It was supported on the right by the Third and Fourth Regiments of Infantry. The Fourteenth Infantry was placed in echelon some 80 or 100 yards in rear of its left. Warren's Third Brigade formed the extreme left of our division line, and the Second Brigade, under Major Lovell, was held in the reserve, covering the interval between the First and Third Brigades. Warren had thrown skirmishers into the woods to his left front, and I had detached a company, under Captain Lay, and posted it beyond the woods to watch the Cold Harbor road.

Our position was naturally a strong one, and had General Sykes been permitted to hold with his division the line of road it would have been almost impregnable to any attack in front, for then the enemy would have been obliged to leave the shelter of the woods and approach us over an open space varying from 300 to 600 yards in width, and over